Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to airbag devices. Specifically, the present invention relates to an airbag device that is suited for occupant protection in an oblique collision of a vehicle, such as small overlap impact or oblique impact, and is disposed on the vehicle front side of an occupant.
Discussion of the Background
Oblique crash tests such as a small overlap impact test have attracted attention as tests to evaluate the crashworthiness of vehicles. For example, in a small overlap impact test, as illustrated in FIG. 21, an oblique front part of a vehicle 1 strikes an obstacle 2 to simulate a collision into a thin object such as a tree or a utility pole. In the small overlap impact, the force is generated which moves an occupant 10 obliquely forward relative to the vehicle 1.
Airbag devices (hereinafter, also referred to as “frontal airbags”) disposed on the vehicle front side of an occupant are desired to pass such oblique crash tests. Conventional typical front airbags, however, are inflated and deployed to a generally spherical shape by the pressure (inner pressure) in the airbags, and are therefore insufficient in the function to prevent the occupant from moving laterally. Accordingly, frontal airbags have been developed which can protect an occupant by properly catching the occupant who moves obliquely forward in an oblique collision.
For example, an airbag device for a passenger seat disclosed in JP 2016-043856 A is intended to catch a passenger moving obliquely forward, including a main inflation portion provided to prevent the passenger from moving forward in a frontal collision of a vehicle and a protruding inflation portion provided to prevent the passenger from moving laterally in an oblique collision of the vehicle.